Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Little Boy

For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you’.
—Jesus, Matthew 17:20b

Little Boy: Believe the Impossible, produced by Metanoia films (the biblical word metanoia means to change one’s mind or repentance, or perhaps in this instance, beyond the mind), tells the story of a young boy, Pepper Flynt Busbee, upon whom psychokinetic power was bestowed to work miracles of faith, even shake mountains. Despite being bullied by other kids, the “little boy” believed the impossible. By believing in the power of faith without doubting he was not only able to perform supernatural feats that astonished the townspeople, but also bring his father and best friend, James Busbee, back from the battlefields and perils of World War II. As one promo puts it,

The movie tells an all-American story of a devoted 7-year-old son whose father goes missing in the battles of World War II. Motivated by Jesus’ words that faith can move mountains, the little boy asks a local priest how he can increase his faith to move a mountain and bring his missing daddy home. The film promises to be a heart moving film.[1]

The executive producer (other of the film’s execs include Roma Downey and Mark Burnett) and actor Eduardo Verástegui* asks of the film’s storyline, “Who is going to be against a little boy who is going to do whatever it takes to bring his dad back from World War II, because he loves him so much he wants to save his dad, and he’s going to do it through a list of actions [Acts of Corporal Mercy] that are universal—feed the poor, visit those who are sick and in prison?”[2] So a trap has been set. Who will dare to criticize a movie that brings people together and unites them to do good to other people? And didn’t Jesus warn His followers against causing “one of these little ones” to stumble?

No doubt the film, by creating the cinematographic feeling of a Norman Rockwell painting and departing from the standard Hollywood fare of sex and gore, will appear as a harmless and innocent fantasy to most viewers. The nostalgia for a long-gone era of American history, vaguely remembered by some of us seniors, will draw the hearts of many viewers into the story. Those who have seen the movie testify to its emotional appeal, and emotions are for most Americans the spiritual gateway to the soul.

The stimulus for making the movie may arise from the director and producers’ desire to influence American culture for the good. One of the 7 Mountains Christian Dominionism aspires to conquer is the media, arts and entertainment industries. Some pre-release reviews of the movie have already praised Little Boy as an artful film though criticizing it for, among a few other things, depicting war violence and hatred of the Japanese.

Though containing elements of goodness in it, the “spirituality” the movie portrays ought to concern biblical Christians. The movie contains a weird spiritual combination of themes that while admittedly Christian, also projects a magical and occult worldview like a Harry Potter movie. We turn now to a description and transcript of the movie’s trailer. As you read it, note the occurrences of the words “believe” and “faith.”

Trailer Scenes[3]

On the family farm:Father: “Do you believe we can do this?”
Little Boy: “Yes, I believe we can do this!”

Crossing an ocean in a fierce life-threatening storm (a dream?):Ship’s Captain: “Partner, do you believe you can do this?”
Little Boy: “I believe I can do this!”

Attending a magic show:
The marquee on the town theater reads—“Ben Eagle the Magician” Live Show Soon
Ben Eagle, the costumed and goateed magician with dark piercing eyes looks at the audience of children and says: “The moment of truth. I am searching for the chosen one.”
Chorus of audience’s kids shouting: “Me . . . me . . . me.”
Ben Eagle pointing his magic wand at the little boy: “You!”
(After embarrassingly slinking down into his seat, the Little Boy raises the courage to step up to the stage and sit at the end of a long table opposite from the magician. By the magician, the table has a pop bottle on it.)
Ben Eagle to the Little Boy: “The movement of an object through inner power. Do you believe you can do this?”
Audience of youngsters: A chorus of mocking laughter at the Little Boy.
Little Boy to Ben Eagle: “Yes, I believe I can move it!”
(The Little Boy stretches his arms from his body and points a hand at the bottle. From the other end of the table the bottle slides across the table to him.)
Audience of little children: They clap and cheer for what they have seen.

Counsel from a priest in his office:
Priest: “You wanted the bottle to move so much, it moved. Faith is (indistinct).”
Little Boy: “But if I get enough faith nothing is impossible, right? Even bringing my dad home?”
Priest: “Your faith won’t work if you have even the slightest bit of doubt.”

On Main Street (arguing with older brother):
Little Boy:(Yelling indistinct words).
Big Brother: “How? How are you going to bring Dad back?”
Little Boy: “I can move a mountain.”
Big Brother: (Taking the Little Boy to the middle of the street and turning him in the direction of the distant overlooking mountain) “Want ’a move a mountain? There’s one. Go ahead. Move it.
Little Boy:(Assuming a stance of faith—one foot forward and the other planted behind) He points his arms, hands and fingers at the mountain as he stares the mountain down. The earth quakes and cracks beneath his feet. The mountain moves. A chandelier falls from a ceiling. Bystanders “Ooh . . .” and “Ah . . .” as they are amazed at the powers of faith emanating from the hands, posture and countenance of the Little Boy.

Override
voice (divine?) speaks to the Little Boy: “It takes courage to believe.
Your father (God?) would be more than proud of you.”

So briefly, allow a few concerns about the worldview this movie’s trailer presents to be addressed.

Faith

Little Boy: “But if I get enough faith nothing is impossible, right?”
Priest: “Your faith won’t work if you have even the slightest bit of doubt.”

On three occasions to His disciple-apostles, Jesus stated that faith could move a mountain (Matthew 17:20; 21:21; Mark 11:23), a fig tree (Matthew 21:21), or mulberry tree (Luke 17:6). He did not utter the words regarding the power of faith to a “little boy,” or for that matter other children (though in Matthew 18 the Lord lauds children and warns of adults who might cause them to stumble in unbelief), but to grown men, to His disciple-apostles.

Faith and Miracles
In the instance where Jesus spoke about mountain-moving faith, a father had brought his son to some of the disciple-apostles to be cured of demon possession (Matthew 17:14-20). (Peter, James and John had been with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration.) The disciples could not rid the boy of his demonic affliction, despite having been given the kingdom power to do so (Matthew 10:7-8). So desperate to see his son cured of demon possession, the man brought the boy to Jesus. Jesus rebuked the demon and cured the youth (Matthew 17:18). The occasion for Jesus’ teaching on faith in this context was to account for the disciples’ inability. Their inability to cure the demon possessed boy caused the disciples to question whether their kingdom powers were legitimate and sufficient to do what Jesus had told them they could. We pick up the dialog between Jesus and His disciples as He explained why they could not exorcise the demon out of the man’s son. Note: Jesus’ words, as indicated by the plural pronouns and verbs, were addressed to twelve grown men, not one little boy.

Question of the Disciples:“Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’”

Answer of Jesus:“He [Jesus] said to them (Greek plural pronoun, autois)”
“Because of the littleness of your (Greek plural possessive pronoun, humon) faith”“truly I say to you (Greek plural pronoun, hymin)”
“if you (Greek plural pronoun, hymeis) have (Greek plural verb, echete) faith”
“you will say (Greek plural verb, eirete) to this mountain”
“nothing will be impossible to you (Greek plural pronoun, hymin)”

In His explanation about mountain-shaking faith, Jesus was not speaking to children, but to grown men (Matthew 17:19-20). Though He did talk about children in the next chapter (Matthew 18:1-6), in the immediate context Jesus was addressing the disciple-apostles, not little boys. Furthermore, contradicting the little boy’s assumption (“if I get enough faith nothing is impossible”) and the priest’s counsel (“your faith won’t work if you have even the slightest bit of doubt”); Jesus told these “big men” that all they needed was “little faith” to move a big mountain, i.e. mustard-seed-sized faith. Putting aside the fact that Jesus probably employed a proverbial and hyperbolic expression used by Jewish rabbis to describe possible but improbable occurrences,[4] He was telling “grown” men that they could perform “big” miracles by exercising “little” faith. He was not telling “little” boys they needed “big” faith to work kingdom signs.

Lesson: In another analogous context regarding the relation of faith to the supernatural, Jesus told the disciple-apostles, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). The discretionary power to work miracles belongs to God, and to that end Jesus said that “mustard-seed faith” can dispose God to do miracles and exorcisms. So what is this Charismatic assumption that healing miracles depend upon the amount of faith either the healer or healee can conjure up? As commentator R.T. France (1938-2012) wrote, “It is important to observe here that it is not the ‘amount’ of faith which brings the impossible within reach, but the power of God, which is available to even the ‘smallest’ faith.”[5] This fact about faith is far different from its portrayal in Little Boy. It’s not big faith that causes God to respond, but little faith.

The New Apostolic Reformation also wants to move mountains. Ad on TheElijahList, 7/18/09, url was HERE.

Faith and Works
Not only does little faith endow the faithful to perform big miracles, but also to do Corporal Works of Mercy. Though with the exception of caring for bodies of the dead (i.e., “corporal” means body), these acts of mercy are derived from Jesus’ teaching about the coming judgment: “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:34-*40). So according to Roman Catholic tradition, these works are defined as “feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned and burying the dead.”[6] The seventh and last work of mercy, burying a dead person’s body, is evidently added in “deference to the body’s being the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Cor 3:16).”[7] And as there are seven corporal works of mercy, so also there are seven Roman Catholic spiritual works of mercy.[8] Because of the power of emotions, one of the movie’s agenda is probably the hope that viewers will commit to imitate what they saw and leave the theater like they might on occasion leave church: to engage the to-do-list of Little Boy and make this world a better place.

Corporal Acts of Mercy are great, but only insofar as they go. The issue of the relation of works to faith is addressed by James in his epistle. Faith without works is dead, as is the corollary, works without faith is also dead (James 2:17; See 1 John 3:17-18). One cannot read the Old Testament without being gripped by God’s concern for the poor. And who hasn’t heard about the Parable of the Good Samaritan? (Luke 10:30-37) Christians do have an obligation to help people cope with this life’s physical needs. Hundreds of times as a pastor, and even now in retirement, I have helped homeless people or needy families pay for food, clothing, gas, utilities, etc. [9] All of us should cause us to look kindly and act benevolently toward organizations like Samaritan’s Purse and local rescue missions. But having said this, absent a Gospel testimony along with benevolence leaves a person no better off. Corporal Acts of Mercy may minister to people’s immediate needs, but they will not solve their ultimate need; and that is to be redeemed by believing that Jesus died for our sins and was raised for our justification (Mark 10:45; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Look . . . if we’re going to believe the importance of acts of mercy based upon the words of Jesus of Jesus, then we had better also embrace the message of salvation based upon the words of Jesus and His appointed ambassadors, the apostles. What the Word has joined together no “do-gooder” should dare to separate. Liberal Christians are good at promoting doing good works while at the same time they are embarrassed by the simplicity and exclusivity of the Gospel (Revelation 3:1-6). Though not embarrassed by the Gospel, some fundamental Christians (Note: I say some because the rescue mission movement was initiated by fundamentalists.) do not always do works to help the needy out. God calls Christians to do acts of mercy while at the same time being bold to preach the Gospel. Jesus was bold for both, and so should we. But amidst all this, it should be noted that “Acts of Corporeal Mercy” is a distinctly, though not necessarily unbiblical, Roman Catholic categorization, as are other emphases in the movie Little Boy.

Nevertheless, the movie’s trailer presents faith as the activator by which quantum powers of energy, sound, light, vibrations can be personally harnessed, powers like those communicated by the various authors of The Physics of Heaven. Little Boy demonstrates how a kid can activate such powers by faith and by performing Corporeal Acts of Mercy, bring God’s kingdom to earth. As the override voice tells the viewers, “It’s up to you to achieve the impossible.” Having said this, the movie also raises issues regarding the little boy’s mission. Is it messianic?

With the magician serving as a sort of conduit to bestow supernatural power, did he announce the appointment of the “little boy” to be a messiah? Or, if measured by his ability to work signs, did the magician reveal the boy to be a “manifest son of God”? Does the Little Boy portray what Charismatics believe becoming a member of Joel’s Army looks like?[10] Ironically, the designation “chosen one” introduces the doctrine of election.

On the point of a young messiah working wonders, it can be noted that ancient Apocryphal gospels (though removed a hundred years or so from the time Jesus lived) invented stories of the boy Jesus performing miracles between the ages of five and twelve years old—raising a controversy by fashioning five sparrows from clay while playing with other children on the Sabbath; resurrecting a playmate from the dead who had fallen off a roof; healing a young man who had seriously wounded his foot with an axe while splitting wood; etc.[11] On this point, the movie plays upon the apocryphal traditions of the child Jesus working miracles.

In contrast to the relative silence of the Gospels regarding Jesus’ childhood days and despite the Gospel notice that His first miracle was performed at the Wedding Feast at Cana of Galilee (changing water into wine, John 2:11), these fictions were invented to fill in biographical “gaps.” As regards these invented stories, Alfred Edersheim (1825-1889) wisely stated that the silence of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) stands “in contrast to the almost blasphemous absurdities of the Apocryphal Gospels, [and] teaches us once more, and most impressively, that the Gospels furnish a history of the Savior, not a biography of Jesus of Nazareth.”[12] In contrast to Apocryphal gospels, Luke reported of Jesus’ growing-up, of the supposedly lost years of Jesus, that “The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him (Luke 2:40; See also Luke 2:52). It was not until His baptism that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus and public notice was given that He was commencing His public ministry which included the Spirit’s empowerment to work “signs and wonders” (Matthew 3:13-17; 12:24, 28, 31-32). This Gospel fact debunks the idea that in His youth Jesus performed miracles. While as a mature man Jesus became a “wonder worker,” He was not seen by His contemporaries as a “wonder boy,” the one exception being His dialoging with the teachers in the temple when He was twelve years old (Luke 2:41-52).

So the question becomes, why did the magician choose this little boy? In contrast to the magician and as chronicled by Matthew, Jesus said: “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14, KJV). But Ben Eagle the magician, mixing faith and power, gave psychokinetic or telekinetic powers to the little boy only.

Magician to the Little Boy: “The movement of an object (i.e., the bottle on the table) through inner power. Do you believe you can do this?”
Little Boy to magician: “Yes, I believe I can move it!”
(The bottle slides from one of the table to the other)

Psychokinesis derives from root psyche referring to the mind or soul, and kenesis meaning energy or movement. Hence psychokinesis (often designated PK) refers to the power of the mind to affect the material world, i.e. mind over matter. Often PK is used to explain “miracles or the actions of spirits.”[13] Leonard George refers to the book of Fr. Herbert Thurston (1856-1939), The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism, which presents a “collection of strange phenomena associated with Catholic saints.” George then states that,

Thurston reported many incidents in which the holy wafer of the Mass allegedly rose from the altar and deposited itself into the mouth of the communicant. The devout may consider such an event to be a divine act; but some have argued that it would more likely be caused by PK on the part of the priest or the communicant.[15]

Though beautifully produced, Little Boy will emotively introduce viewers of all ages to the weird world of the occult, something the Bible expressly first forbade Israel and now forbids the church to dabble in (Deuteronomy 18:9-15). Remember, George stated that psycho or telekinesis is often used to explain the actions of spirits. And Christians are at war the devil and unclean spirits who reign in the occult domain (Ephesians 6:10-17).

Conclusion Little Boy is a film containing overtures pointing to Roman Catholicism. The movie seemingly fails, based upon the material of the trailer, to integrate its themes faith, power, miracles and good works in a biblical way. In fact, the ways in which the themes are presented are anti-biblical. The introduction of occultism by the movie is wholly unacceptable to Bible believing Christians. Occult themes cannot be soft pedaled by calling them magic as other reviewers have done. The Bible teaches the faithful to avoid the occult. Even though the review does not use the word occult with all its sinister connotation, I agree with the assessment of the movie given by the Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment: “LITTLE BOY is a beautifully photographed, artistic piece of magical realism, but the movie’s overt Christian, redemptive, moral elements are diminished by too much magical thinking.”[16]

Endnotes: 1. Drew Zahn, “Major movie inspires faith to move mountains,” World Net Daily, March 3, 2015 (http://mobile.wnd.com/2015/03/major-movie-inspires-faith-to-move-mountains/). Producer calls ‘Little Boy’ ‘a fairy tale for adults through the eyes of a child’. 2. Verástegui quoted by Zahn, World Net Daily. “Acts of Corporeal Mercy” (apart from a Roman Catholic interpretation, see endnote 6) may be understood perhaps like this: Christians serve as conduits for God’s good works as part of the Body (i.e., Latin, corpus) of Christ. The works of mercy they do to others is if they had done them to Christ (See Matthew 25:34-*40.). The idea is that good works to the bodies of the needy come from the Body of Christ. 3. Little Boy: Believe the Impossible trailer can be seen here: http://littleboymovie.com/#. Note that there are other trailers, including this link: http://www.littleboyresources.com/trailer4. See Donald Hagner, Matthew 14-28: Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 33B (Dallas, TX: Word Incorporated, 1995): 505. 5. R.T. France, The Gospel According to Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1985): 266. 6. “Corporal Works of Mercy,” Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia, Reverend Peter M.J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.L., Editor (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, 1991): 265. I thank researcher Sue Conway for providing this quote. See: http://www.catholicworker.org/aimsandmeanstext.cfm?Number=287. Ibid. 8. Ibid. 9. I relate this reluctantly to avoid the accusation that I have not and do not care about the plight of the needy. See Matthew 6:1-2; 23:5 10. See Sarah Leslie, “The NEW BREED Defined,” Herescope, February 3, 2006 (http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/02/new-breed-defined.html); “The New Breed and Incarnating Christ,” Herescope, February 8, 2006 (http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/02/new-breed-and-incarnating-christ.html); “IHOP’s New Breed Leaders,” Herescope, July 16, 2011 (http://herescope.blogspot.com/2011/07/ihops-new-breed-leaders.html); and Jewel Grewe, Joel’s Army (West Lafayette, IN: Discernment Ministries, Inc., 2006). PDF download available: http://discernment-ministries.org/JoelsArmy.pdf. The idea current among NAR Charismatics is that at the end of this age God is going to raise-up youth to defeat godlessness in the world, thereby helping to establish and administer God’s kingdom on earth. They find precedent for this from the Prophet Joel, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (and work signs and wonders?, Joel 2:28, KJV). Never mind that the prediction-promise was addressed to the Jewish nation, not the contemporary church. 11. See Oscar Cullman, “Infancy Gospels,” New Testament Apocrypha, Volume One: Gospels and Related Writings, Revised Edition, Wilhelm Schneemelcher Editor, R. McL. Wilson, English Translator (Louisville, KY, Westminster John Knox Press, 1991): 414-469. 12. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, New Updated Edition (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993): 154. 13. Emphasis added, Leonard George, Alternative Realities: The Paranormal, the Mystic and the Transcendent in Human Experience (New York, NY: Facts On File, Inc., 1995): 234. 14. Ibid. Thurston was a Roman Catholic priest of the Jesuit order, a prolific scholar, and an expert on spiritualism. 15. Ibid: 234-235. 16. “LITTLE BOY: Faith Marred by Magical Realism,” Movie Guide: The Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment (https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/little-boy.html).

Friday, April 17, 2015

The Mental Health Church

Kay Warren & Ed Stetzer of Leadership NetworkLeading the Charge!

"Mental Illness Will Affect Families in YOUR Church in 2015. Are You Prepared?"Leadership Network e-mail, April 2, 2015

Ever since Kay Warren's husband, the famous Rick Warren of "purpose-driven" fame, launched his "Daniel Plan" a few years ago there have been concerns that his "health" agenda for the church would expand into "mental health." It appears from the above promotion that this is indeed happening. What role does Warren envision for the church in promoting "mental health"? It is more than meets the eye.

This blog, along with our research friends Warren Smith[1] and Berit Kjos,[2] previously published articles exposing how Rick Warren was relying on openly New Age doctors to tell Christians how to become mentally, spiritually and physically “healthy.” Review the following articles we posted at the time:

Thus the Daniel Plan was always intended to be much more than just a mere diet plan. It was a comprehensive mental, physical and spiritual "health" program. Warren Smith described the New Age spirituality inherent in Rick Warren's healthcare model in his booklet Rick Warren's Daniel Plan:

Who would have believed it? Occult/New Age doctors being invited into the church to teach Christians how to be healthy? Charles Spurgeon must be rolling over in his grave. On January 15, 2011 a fifty-two week health and wellness program—the Daniel Plan—was initiated at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. More than six thousand people attended the well promoted and carefully staged event. Warren took the opportunity to announce that his own personal goal was to lose 90 pounds in 2011. The Daniel Plan website states that "the Daniel Plan envisions starting a movement so the result is better physical and spiritual health for current and future generations." It describes how Rick Warren recruited three best-selling authors to create and oversee the Daniel Plan Curriculum—Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Daniel Amen, and Dr. Mark Hyman. Although these three physicians are all involved with New Age teachings, they describe themselves respectively as a Muslim, a Christian, and a Jew.[3]

"Mental Health and the Church"
It is noteworthy that this "Mental Health and the Church" summit was a Leadership Network event. Leadership Network is the premier organization committed to peddling psycho-social transformation in the church. It was launched over a generation ago by Peter Drucker and Bob Buford to train pastors and leaders in state-of-the-art methods of marketing and social change.[4] In our initial review of Rick Warren's Daniel Plan, titled "3-Legged 'Health' Care," we made the following connections:

Mental health needs to be defined
Just what is "mental health"? In our postmodern society "mental health" is rapidly being recast into aligning one's personality and behavior to politically and spiritually correct norms — norms which are rapidly changing as society's Christian base erodes. Thus those who hold to old-fashioned or biblical opinions, beliefs, attitudes, values and mores may soon find themselves labeled mentally UN-healthy.

Increasingly, we are hearing a drumbeat from the global elite calling for societal "mental health" standards. This push is facilitated by the mainstream press which hypes each new "mental health" disaster (such as the recent tragic Germanwings air crash incident). Indeed, this whole agenda comprises much more than simple mental health. It includes a global plan for developing "community" and attaining "sustainable living." In the "3-Legged 'Health' Care" we cited an eyewitness account of the launching of the Daniel Plan at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church:

Researcher Jennifer Pekich wrote an account of her personal experience at the Saddleback Health and Fitness Seminar. Her report on Rick Warren's new Daniel Plan revealed that the real agenda is not about healthy parishioners. It is about radical community transformation. She writes:

By the time I settled into listening more intently, the second speaker, Mark Hyman, began. It didn't take too long to figure out what the basis of his message was. We "need to heal with community" (he termed this "accompaniment"), "we're here for the sake of each other," this plan "is our way out," this plan "saved me," and in fact will "change the world." Saddleback was being told they were a "test community" to show the world how to live "healthy and sustainably."

Jennifer continues her report:

I about fell off my chair when Dr. Hyman stated, "The key to the success of the "Daniel Plan" is "group living"..."individuals" will not succeed, our only hope lies in "community." And with that, it was announced that the "Saddleback community" would be an example of "sustainable living" and would set the course to "change this world"...and the crowd went wild!

When the CHURCH becomes the CHEERLEADER for mental health screening — as is evidenced in this Leadership Network event — then a significant voice of conscience in society is either blunted or shut down. The church is that voice that should by all rights be opposing the injustice of "messing with" people's souls (Gk. psyche, i.e., psychological mental health). Yet with Rick Warren's wife Kay leading the cheers, the church is becoming complicit, even furthering this agenda along. The Warren's own personal family tragedy, losing a son to suicide, is what gives Kay Warren a platform upon which to be promoted as an "expert" on mental health. After this sad event, in a 9/18/13 article titled "Rick Warren Tells Story of Son's Suicide on CNN,"Christianity Today reported that

When he returned to the pulpit at Saddleback Church six weeks ago, Rick Warren launched a sermon series on grief and a campaign to help churches address mental illness. "There's no shame when any other organ in your body fails, so why do we feel shame if our brain is broken?" he asked.

While superficially seeming to sympathize with mental health issues, this public stance is also a tactical maneuver. The Leadership Network elites (Ed Stetzer and Rick Warren's wife Kay) are advancing a cherished agenda to "transform" the church. In fact, this may do more harm to people. And it will likely advance the church further into the bullying tactics we observed in the recent Mars Hill debacles.[6] After all, it is Leadership Network that originally set up the church as a high-demand "organization" with performance-driven standards for achieving "measurable results." It is not a stretch to take this to the next level which is church-based assessment of spiritual, physical and mental health. What will happen to certain members of the local body (elderly, handicapped, infirm, disabled, sleep-deprived young mothers, or others simply having a "bad hair day") who cannot attain the goals of "mental health" assessments? Meet physical health attributes? Perform spiritual health objectives? Will there be punitive measures put in place?

This whole agenda extends far beyond the parameters of the church. In Leadership Network's plan of action, the church is supposed to be the cheerleader for global transformation! Note the following exhibit taken from a book by Leadership Network author and leader, Eric Swanson:

This illustration is a graphic representation of what this post is concerned about. It comes from Eric Swanson's book To Transform A City: Whole Church, Whole Gospel, Whole City (Zondervan, 2010), Figure 2 in the Foreword, p. 11. This is a visual chart of the "7 domains of culture," of which Healthcare is the 7th. The Church in this diagram is seen encompassing the other 6 secular "domains." Swanson explains, "The missional church sees itself as the people of God... already deployed across all domains of culture." This is a disturbing visual of the Dominionist church model, illustrating the 7 mountains of culture[7], which Swanson prefers to call "domains." Swanson acknowledges Bob Buford of Leadership Network on p. 13. To put this chart in a larger context, listen to Eric Swanson's new version of the "gospel" at his YouTube video discussing his "Externally Focused Churches" which is also posted as an exhibit in the context of an article "What Is Dominionism?"

Swanson's model explains the reason why the elite church leaders of Leadership Network see their "leadership" role as pivotal in society, overarching across the secular spectrum, and superimposing the CHURCH on top of every other major institution — and for what purpose? To be salt and light? Or to rule and reign over the 6 other societal structures? Will this mixture of church and state effectually supersede representative government through collaborations toward a new form of "governance"? In this Swanson image, Peter Drucker's original 3-legged stool now looks like a 7-headed hydra, with the church optimistically placed as the center of orchestrating change. This brings to mind Tim Keller's "Center Church," which is the global model, but this is a topic for a future article.

Meditative Mental Health
A news article today (4/17/15) reports that "a group of top doctors" were demanding that "TV celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz" be removed from his faculty position at Columbia University, "citing his 'egregious lack of integrity' for promoting what they call 'quack treatments.'"

"Dr. Oz has repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine," said a letter the 10 physicians sent to a Columbia dean earlier this week. They say he's pushing "miracle" weight-loss supplements with no scientific proof that they work....The doctors wrote that Oz, for years a world-class Columbia cardiothoracic surgeon, "has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain." They said he has "misled and endangered" the public.[8]

While many readers (the authors included) may agree with Dr. Oz's advocacy of a healthful lifestyle and nutritious eating, and while it is evident that his critics may have less-than-stellar motives, the fact remains that Dr. Oz is an occult New Age doctor. Yet Dr. Oz has found a comfortable station in the church as a top doctor for Rick Warren's healthcare plan. We observed the New Age connections between health and mental health in our original article:

This New Age blueprint for health care reform altered the very meaning of the term "health." In modern American society today the word "health" now connotes the entire "body-mind-spirit" connection. Three decades after Ferguson's book came out, the evangelical world has comfortably adopted the "body-mind-spirit" worldview of the New Agers.[6] Many eastern mystical "holistic health" ideas were simply re-written into biblical terminology and passed off to evangelicals as higher forms of spirituality. Today, meditation, contemplation, drumming, etc. are becoming commonplace. This is the face of the seeker-sensitive church. By accommodating itself to the eastern worldview, the Church fools itself into thinking it is more "culturally relevant." So the next step in the seeker-sensitive journey is for the Church to become an "agent" of "cultural renewal."[9]

Thus it is likely that in the future that "mental health" may come to be associated with meditation and contemplation. In other words, those who "meditate" may perform better on the performance-based assessments with their predetermined "mental health" criteria. Those who practice contemplation could be said to be more mentally healthy than those who don't. Those who think esoterically may be evaluated as more spiritually mature. The list could go on and on.

Keep in mind that the agenda to re-define mental health is many decades old and it impacts many of the "domains" of society, especially education, government and healthcare. The eradication of conscience and morality was the stated intent:

During 1948 ALGER HISS, who would later be convicted of spying for the Soviet Union, wrote the preface to Gen. Brock Chisholm’s lecture, “The Psychiatry of Enduring Peace and Social Progress,” which was re-published in International Conciliation (No. 437, March, 1948, p. 109). Alger Hiss was at that time president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the publisher of International Conciliation. The preface to Chisholm’s lecture (Feb. 21, 1948), redefined the word “health”:

Defining health as a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” it includes not only the more conventional fields of activity but also mental health, housing, nutrition, economic or working conditions, and administrative and social techniques affecting public health. In no other field is international cooperation more essential and in no other field has it been more effective and political difference less apparent.[10][emphasis added]

General Brock Chisholm, a Canadian psychiatrist and friend of Soviet agent Alger Hiss.... asserted that

The reinterpretation and eventually eradication of the concept of right and wrong… these are the belated objectives of practically all effective psychotherapy.[emphasis added]

Brock Chisholm went on to recommend that teachers all over the world be trained in “no right/no wrong” psychotherapeutic techniques found in the schools today.[11]

One can only wonder if the prophet Daniel's vision of the end days included a look at Rick Warren's Daniel Plan — a compromised pastor and three New Age doctors with their psychics, spirit guides, tantric sex, necromancy, yoga, Reiki, Transcendental and Kundalini "sa ta na ma" meditations and more — all in Daniel's name. If so, it is no wonder that the Bible records that he "fainted" and became "sick" for a number of days (Daniel 8:27).[12]

In our critique of Rick Warren's Daniel Plan, we warned:

So while Rick Warren activates the Church leg of the stool, other pressures are being brought to bear on the Corporate and State legs to bring all into conformance with global consciousness and standards. And thanks to Rick Warren's Daniel Plan, we are provided with an obvious clue that these standards will be managed and monitored by the New Age/New Spirituality model of health care reform.

So it might be questioned, should Bible believers, like Daniel of old, choose not to defile themselves by partaking in the Daniel Plan with its obvious New Age and One World overtones and control mechanisms? How much better it would be for Christians to choose to satisfy their spiritual appetite by feeding on Him who is the Bread of Life.[13]

"For my people have committed two evils;they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters,and hewed them out cisterns,broken cisterns, that can hold no water."

(Jeremiah 2:13)

"But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,not walking in craftiness,nor handling the word of God deceitfully;but by manifestation of the truthcommending ourselves to every man's consciencein the sight of God.But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:In whom the god of this world hath blindedthe minds of them which believe not,lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ,Who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

Prophets have long recognized that their words carry a force or power
that is more than just words, but is like an energy that empowers what
they prophesy. Some Christian leaders have also found that they have a
“resonance” themselves that helps people move deeper into God.—Ellyn Davis, The Physics of Heaven, p. 53, emphasis added

“Good Vibrations”—the chapter’s title is taken from the song written and engineered by Brian Wilson (1942- ), sung by the Beach Boys (1966), and which became a #1 song in the United States and other countries. Rolling Stone called it the sixth greatest song in rock ’n roll history. It is considered Wilson’s crowning musical achievement. But inherent with the song, a fact which escaped many of us who were more affected by the sensations of the music, was the message Wilson tried to communicate—a cosmic worldview with a New Age spiritual component. Reflecting the direction the 60s California culture was moving in, Brian Wilson’s life experiences influenced the production of Good Vibrations.

The music, Wilson explained, was rooted in childhood memories that included an abusive father (“bad vibrations”) and a clairsentient mother who “had talked to him about vibrations—invisible forces that filled the air.”[2] She explained that dogs did not like certain people because of negative sensations they detected emanating from certain people (auric effect?). As the learning website Shmoop informs, “The whole thing terrified Brian; invisible currents floating around the cosmos and sending out messages to people and animals was spooky stuff.”[3] So the song Good Vibrations represents his attempt to musically bring “what’s out there down here,” to translate the psychic into the ecstatic. Though scientific evidence remains inconclusive, “Sound vibrations are believed to play a mysterious part in the production of psychic phenomena.”[4]

To discover and experience the “invisible forces that filled the air,” Brian Wilson experimented with hallucinatory drugs. One psychedelic experience—whether into “inner” or “outer” space, who knows?—proved ecstatic. (The aftermath of others left him depressed, deranged and almost dysfunctional.) This enamoring experience caused Wilson to experiment with cutting-edge sound technology as he tried to reproduce the sights and sounds of that good “trip” in his music. His studio became his laboratory. He spent countless hours and conducted numbers of experiments to recreate the euphoric sensations of that good psychedelic experience. Good Vibrations resulted. About that song Wilson testified that it was, “the summation of my musical vision, a harmonic convergence of imagination and talent, production values and craft, songwriting and spirituality.”[5]

With the song Good Vibrations, Brian Wilson had synched the invisible forces of the cosmos with his ecstatic psychedelic experience. By “tripping out” in his mind, he “tuned in” to the universe. As they too were enamored by the feelings the new sound aroused in them, Wilson’s music affected the hearts of millions of listeners. Now a generation later, what was “spooky stuff” to Brian Wilson then, stuff he tried to musically capture and express by combining visionary psychedelics with vibrating technology, has emerged to become “spiritual and scientific stuff” among apostles and prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR).

The Physics of Heaven
In her chapter—Good Vibrations—Ellyn Davis draws upon the song’s memory to introduce and present “A Basic Science Lesson About Vibrations,” a kind of crash course on sound, light and energy. (TPOH, 54-63) Her introductory and interesting presentation of the science of energy needs no interaction on the part of this reviewer because it is what it is. Much modern technology based upon wave-particle theory—medical and otherwise—serves as an immense help to humanity’s health and convenience. How many of us use cell phones, computers, microwave ovens or have had X-rays or MRIs taken to diagnose illnesses, and much more? Technology based upon wave or particle observation, calculation and application seems to be everywhere!

It can be argued that these benefits and conveniences can be derived from nature because God originally powered it up. “Let there be light” God said, “and there was light” records Moses (Genesis 1:3). Energy derives from God and therefore existentially and ontologically points observers and users to Him, or at least it should. This is not up for debate among believers (Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1-6). But this observation does not therefore endow light—the thing in itself which secular scientists believe is the essence of the universe—to be divine, though there resides in the human heart the temptation to spiritualize nature and make “It” divine (i.e., pantheism). Energy does not explain God. Only God explains God. Even though God is light (1 John 1:5), the light we experience is separate from Him because He created it separate from Himself (Genesis 1:3-4). Though throughout history the temptation has existed to deify and worship light, light itself is not God. However, some quantum spiritualists would have it otherwise.

Quantum Bible Verse?
To biblically validate that some Christian leaders resonate with the force of nature by which they lead others deeper into God, author Davis quotes Romans 1, verse 20, which reads:

For since the creation of the world God’s [NASB, His] invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from [NASB, through] what has been made. (Emphasis added, TPOH, 54)

Based upon this verse, she asks, “What if there are ‘good vibrations’ that God has imbedded into everything He created and we just need to be open to experiencing them?”(TPOH, 54) To question her question, it should be asked: Does Paul’s statement endorse, even theoretically, linking Christian experience to nature’s quantum energy? For a number of reasons the answer is, “No.”

First, the obvious subject of the paragraph concerns the evidence for and knowledge of God in man revealed by the “wrath of God... against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). Second, what makes evident the existence of God and human accountability to Him are “His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature” as “clearly seen [and] understood through what has been made” by God (Romans 1:20). So the power of God as revealed in the working of the universe makes any observer accountable to God (including the most renowned physicists). Third, though God’s eternal power and divine nature are evidenced in the universe’s mechanical working, the majority of humankind suppresses the inference that God is. Instead, they develop natural or spiritual explanations (like evolution and pantheism) to explain creation; and this to dismiss any idea of personal accountability to the Creator who “just might” hold them responsible and accountable for their unrighteousness, which sin contributes both to their misery and those around them. And fourth, rejecting the obvious places God-deniers between a “Rock” and “a hard place.” The Rock: “Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock?” (Isaiah 44:8b). The hard place: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘No God’!” (Psalm 14:1).

Regardless of the quandary they find themselves in and choosing to remain oblivious to the obvious, God deniers choose to exist in the “hard place” where their souls find no rest. But because their hearts will not let them deny, they must believe in something, even if it’s anything, or everything. So they choose to worship the creature(s) rather than the Creator. Of this choice Paul states that, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). Incredibly, humans exchange worship of the “incorruptible God” to worship corruptible nature—birds, animals, bugs and above all else, even themselves (Romans 1:23). As a T-shirt messages it, “I was an atheist until I found out ‘I’ was God!”

The point: While Romans 1, verse 20 has everything to do with natural or general revelation (i.e., there’s enough evidence in nature to make every person accountable to God), it has nothing to say about tapping into nature’s vibrations to experience power.[6] This verse Davis cites to support her theory that vibrations exist by which believers can power-up their ministry is misguided. The verse concerns revelation not resonations. One endorser of The Physics of Heaven, himself a prominent quantum spiritualist, claims that there’s an “amazing convergence between the insights of quantum physics and biblical revelation!”(Phil Mason, TPOH, Endorsements) Though this may be true as regards God’s revelation of Himself in nature, it becomes a quantum leap to believe that Christians can get into super-nature by tapping into the energies in that realm. Such a quantum leap Scripture does not support. But new prophets take the leap anyway.

Quantum Prophesying: the New Prophets
Taking her cue from the vibrations within the universe (something she ably introduces and explains), Ellyn Davis hitchhikes on this force (input source) to, in an algorithmic, mechanistic and pantheistic way, assign supernatural power to oracles spoken by mediators and mediatrixes, modern prophets and prophetesses (output devices). Though technically all speech vibrates (theoretically ad infinitum), Davis tells readers that the speech of contemporary prophets especially does so. She informs:

Prophets have long recognized that their words carry a force or power that is more than just the words, but is like an “energy” that empowers what they prophesy. (Emphases added, TPOH, 53)

In the above statement Davis makes a sort of Freudian slip. Note her assertion: “Prophets have long recognized that their words” pack power. Based upon her assertion, questions need to be asked, the ministry of the biblical prophets understood, and the implication of her statement addressed.

Questions
Where does the force come from? Does the residing energy in the universe some how amp-up their words in a megaphonic way? Do their words exceptionally vibrate because as prophets, they speak them? Or do they pack power because the words are God’s? To understand the power source of the true prophetic word of God, we look at the Old Testament prophets.

The Biblical Prophets Understood: the Lord’s Servants
The designation “prophet” denotes an individual who speaks for God. The Hebrew word nabiy’ means “spokesman.” The New Testament Greek word prophetes means “to speak for.” Though the analogy does not fit on all points, the prophet’s function might be compared with that of the President’s Press Secretary. At news conferences held in the White House, the secretary briefs the press corps regarding issues of the President’s administration. The Press Secretary speaks, sometimes misleadingly, for the President. In similar way, the divinely inspired prophets of the Bible spoke, not misleadingly, for God to the nation of Israel and later in the early church. But in their communications, Scripture is careful to point out that the biblical prophets did not speak “their” word, but the Lord’s.

God’s Word, not theirs
Throughout the prophetic Old Testament writings there’s a recurrent designation, with slight variation, for what the prophets spoke. Either the Lord, in speaking to the prophets, or the prophets, in speaking to the people, designated what they spoke as the Lord’s Word, not theirs. The designation appears like this:

As reflected in this Old Testament sampling and unlike the modern-day prophets referred to by Davis, the Lord’s prophets are careful to designate that they did not originate or own the words they spoke. Rather, they spoke “the word of [from or belonging to] the Lord.” As Dr. René Pache (1904-1979) summarized:

God’s Power, not theirs
Furthermore, the Lord told Jeremiah that the power of the Word spoken by the prophet was His. “‘Is not My word like fire?’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer which shatters a rock?’’ (Jeremiah 23:29). By stating that these modern-day prophets have long recognized that their words carry force, does the author thereby betray that these self-proclaimed prophets really are speaking words which are, “Not from the mouth of the Lord”? (Jeremiah 23:16) After all, Davis specifically states the words of these prophets are theirs.

Implication: New Apostles, New Prophets, New Authority
In that the new prophets recognize the resonating power of their words (Remember, the words are theirs.), what does this imply as regards the absolute authority of Scripture? Some of these prophets claim that their word is on a par with with Holy Scripture (In other words, there is no real separation between what they speak and what stands written.). One of them, perhaps “speaking for’’ others, has stated: “The same biblical principles about the attitude that we are to have toward the written word, the logos, should be applied to the rhema that is declared prophetically.”[8] The new prophets and apostles therefore believe, given their authority, that the innovative word they speak can either supplement, even supersede, the written Word of Scripture. After all they recognize their words contain a force or power that goes beyond normal speech.

Quantum “Resonating”: The New Prophets
Regarding science’s discovery of, research into and experimenting with the universe’s quantum reality over the last few generations, Davis observes that, “In recent years, God has been opening the eyes of some of His people to the mysteries of sound, color and light, and vibrations and energy.”(TPOH, 53) [Ed. Note: The esoteric exclusivity denoted by the designation some of His people, suggesting that average Christians like me and perhaps most of you, just don’t get it.] She also has previously affirmed that, “other prophets are finding that sound, color, and light have healing frequencies to them.”(TPOH, 54) So the resident energy in the quantum world causes these new prophet-apostles to theorize that they can plug in to the surrounding energy to amp up their “spirituality” and “ministry.” In other words, by tuning in to the frequencies of the surrounding forces, “good vibrations” can become “god vibrations.” “What if there are ‘good vibrations’ that God has imbedded into everything He created” Davis asks, “and we just need to be open to experiencing them.”(TPOH, 54, 55) Though no machine has been invented to capture the universe’s perpetual motion and put it to constructive use, many Charismatic Christians are coming to believe that they can tap into and minister in the power of these powers. As Davis writes, “we just need to be open to experiencing them.”(TPOH, 54, 55)

So let “experience” be the guide. By experience these new prophets are, according to Davis, turned on with because they are tuned in to nature’s vibrations. Not only have these new prophets discovered “that sound, color, and light have healing frequencies to them,” but also “that they have a ‘resonance’ themselves that helps people move deeper into God.”[9](TPOH, 53) Christian leaders (likely referring to NAR apostles and prophets) are able to channel the universe’s quantum energy to heal and help others move deeper into God. Note the claim: Some Christian leaders “have a ‘resonance’ themselves.” From this statement questions arise. First, do some Christian leaders possess a resonance themselves? And second, can this resonance move people deeper into God?

If this is the case, it must be asked, whatever happened to the ministry of the Holy Spirit? Do people move deeper into God by auric resonations emanating from certain Christian leaders? Or, do Christians move deeper into God by His revelation of Himself through Christ in Scripture as born witness to by the person and power of the Holy Spirit? The biblical answer is obvious.

By His manifold workings (i.e., convicting, regeneration, baptism, sealing, filling, etc.), the Third Person of the Holy Trinity first attracts people to Christ (John 16:8), then escorts them into union with Christ (Acts 1:5; Colossians 1:27), and later over time, moves them into deeper communion with Christ (Galatians 5:16). About moving deeper into God, Paul wrote to the Corinthians,

Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written,Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,And which have not entered the heart of man,All that God has prepared for those who love Him.For to us God revealed them through the Spirit [Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard]; for the Spirit searches all things [Things . . . which have not entered the heart of man], even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. (emphasis added, 1 Corinthians 2:6-12)

Based upon this passage of Scripture, I ask one question: Who moves people “deeper into God”? The answer is not a cadre of Christian leaders who carry about a quantum “resonance” within them—whatever that is—but the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit leads all believers in to the “deeper life,” and furthermore through the Holy Spirit every believer is a “partaker of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).[10] Though we may cultivate life in the Spirit, we neither originate it nor activate it!The Holy Spirit: Person or Resonance?Man is God Theology
By proposing that people lead other people deeper into God raises some genuine theological concerns. First, claiming that certain Christian leaders possess “resonance themselves” infers that “manifest sons of God” possess power to influence other persons. So in believing they possess such “resonating,” it becomes a small step for them to assert themselves to be little gods, and in doing so, they in effect become usurpers of Jesus.

Heresy
In addition to the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is the powerful Third Person within the triune Godhead (Genesis 1:2; Matthew 12:28, 31-32; 28:19; Acts 1:8). To claim that certain leaders possess “resonance themselves” asserts independence from the Holy Spirit. After all, they have “resonance themselves.” Such “resonance” teaching depersonalizes the Holy Spirit into raw power (“The Force?”) thereby contradicting the biblical teaching on the Trinity; that God is not only eternal, but personal. Two anti-Trinitarian heresies, Arianism (4th Century) and Socinianism (16th Century), emphasized the power of the divine spirit to the denial of the Spirit’s personality. For example,

Arius regarded the Spirit not only as a creature, but as created by Christ, ktisma ktismatos, the creature of a creature. Sometime afterward, his [ed., the Spirit’s] personality was wholly denied by the Arians, and he [the Holy Spirit] was considered as the exerted energy of God.[11]

As a rationalist movement after the Reformation, Socinianism, which led to the emergence of modern day Unitarianism, also viewed the Spirit of God to be the energy of God. Theologian W. G. T. Shedd (1820-1894) informed that, “Socinians deny the distinct personality of the Holy Spirit; they concede eternity, because they regard the Spirit as the influence or effluence of the eternal God.”[12]

With this quantum emphasis upon “resonating” Christian leaders, it becomes interesting to see how faith in the distinct person, power and ministry of the Holy Spirit is being reduced, even ignored. The irony of it all is that this is happening within a movement that owes its origin to the Pentecostalism which once-upon-a-time (at the turn of the last century) placed a premium upon the Holy Spirit’s ministry (i.e., the baptism of the Holy Spirit authenticated by speaking in tongues, and a revival of the spiritual gifts). Thus, these new apostles and prophets reveal themselves to be apostates from their Pentecostal heritage.

Quantum Rapturing: the New Prophets
Heavenly tourism (going to Heaven and coming back to earth again), whether on the part of children or adults, has become a publicized experience among Charismatic Christians, and this despite Jesus having told the Jews, “where I am going, you cannot come” (John 8:21), and His promise to His disciples, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also (Emphasis added, John 14:3). Nevertheless, Ellyn Davis states regarding her co-authoress of The Physics of Heaven,

Judy Franklin has found that people who have a hard time “going to heaven” by themselves can do more easily do it if they are around her; so she carries some sort of energy that helps them. (TPOH, 53)

In light of Jesus being the arbiter of when and how people get and go to Heaven, this mediator claim is outlandish (i.e., that like Mary, she can help people get to heaven). The idea that for reason of being exposed to Judy Franklin’s auric energy, people can more easily take an inter-dimensional trip to Heaven (and presumably back again) imposes upon, even usurps, the promise, prerogative and the ministry which belongs to Jesus Christ alone; that is, if His incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension and promised return mean anything. This teaching suggests that for traveling to Heaven temporarily, certain Christians might need Judy more than Jesus.

Quantum Gifting: the New Prophets
Further, Davis claims a “spiritual-gift aura” surrounds Larry Randolph, a NAR prophet. Of his teaching, she explains—again usurping the ministry of the Spirit—that Randolph “has always taught that proximity to someone who already operates in a particular gifting is crucial when learning to operate in that spiritual gift.”(TPOH, 53-54) This claim is asserted despite the Apostle Paul’s teaching that, “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4). Then after listing a number of spiritual gifts, Paul goes on to say, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). Spiritual gifts are given according to the will of the Holy Spirit. They are “gifts.” Believers cannot buy them. They cannot earn them. We can only receive them, and their reception and refinement comes not by human influence, but by the sovereign Spirit’s endowment and discipleship.

ConclusionNatural Theology
In her chapter “Good Vibrations,” Ellyn Davis asks, “Could it be that there are things that we can better understand about God through things He has made such as vibrations and frequencies?”(TPOH, 54, Sidebar, 55) This question is premised upon natural theology; that humans can discover God via the inferences that can be made about Him from nature. The ancient Hebrew writings, Apostle Paul, Church Fathers, theologians, and even some scientists would answer her question in the affirmative. There is a sense that, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1).

Natural theology, that is, insights about God based upon observing the order and functioning of the natural universe, can but does not necessarily—as Romans 1:18-23 teaches—lead observers to believe that a highest power originated and rules the natural order of things. But what natural theology cannot do, in and by itself, is prove the existence of the Christian God, even though Scripture declares the Lord Jesus Christ to be the Originator of it all (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2). Any faith in Jesus depends upon special divine revelation; that is, the historical witness to Jesus’ exceptional incarnation, vicarious death and atonement for our sin, victorious physical/material resurrection from the dead, and personal return to this planet in the future, all of which the Holy Scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit bear witness to (John 15:26; 2 Peter 1:19-21). While natural theology can lead to the proposition God is, that same theology does not necessitate the proposition Jesus is God. To that end, special revelation must have been given and then accepted. Absent the intervention of special revelation in Christ and Scripture in history, inferences from natural theology become dead end streets in the human quest to know and experience God.[13]

So it must be concluded that Ellyn Davis’ theory that connecting with the nature’s vibrations will somehow empower Christians to live more supernaturally is a wishful fiction, even spiritually dangerous because the Apostle Paul calls demons “rulers (archas) . . . powers (exousias) . . . world forces (kosmokratoras) of this darkness . . . spiritual forces (pneumatika) of wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12). Upon reading the Apostle’s description of the powers belonging to demons, believers must be impressed that the new quantum-power spirituality being peddled by the new prophets and prophetesses might well be a seductive “scheme of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11; Compare Colossians 2:8). [14] Connect the dots: quantum light, colors, sounds, energy, vibrations . . . the devil’s powers, forces, spiritualities. One point is certain, being rooted in nature, quantum-nature spirituality does not communicate the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

April Fools!
At the beginning of the month, a number of websites issued their April fools jokes. The website of CERN (i.e., European Council for Energy Research) showed pictures of scientists claiming to have discovered the Force (i.e., the mysterious energy field used by the Jedi in Star Wars) and using it in everyday life—driverless pizza delivery, thought-powered web searching, etc. It was reported about CERN’s claim on its website,

“The Force is what gives a particle physicist his powers,” said Cern scientist Ben Kenobi of the University of Mos Eisley, Tatooine in a press release. Many scientists at the centre were already using The Force, said the release, to communicate over long distances, influence minds and for “lifting heavy things out of swamps”.[15]

Of course, the whole thing was a spoof. It’s interesting that what is “spoof” to CERN scientists (an April Fools Day gag) has become spirituality to modern day prophets. Need any more comparison or comment be made, other than to say Satan is a master masquerader?

Footnotes:[1] Ellyn Davis, Chapter 6: “Good Vibrations,” The Physics of Heaven: Exploring God’s Mysteries of Sound, Light, Energy, Vibrations and Quantum Physics, by Judy Franklin & Ellyn Davis (Crossville, TN: Double Portion Publishing, 2012): 53-63.[2] Brian Wilson, “Good Vibrations: Meaning,” Shmoop (http://www.shmoop.com/good-vibrations/meaning.html).[3] Ibid.[4] “Vibrations,” Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology, Volume Two M-Z, Edited by Leslie Shepherd (Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc., 1991, Third Edition): 1772. To this point, it should be noted that trance music, as well as other Eastern religious or New Age meditative music stimulates positive experiences in the human soul. See Larry DeBruyn, “Getting High on God: Inner Opiates and the Genius of the Megachurch Experience,” Guarding His Flock Ministries, September 6, 2012 (http://guardinghisflock.com/2012/09/06/getting-high-on-god/#more-2212). See also “Trance Music,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trance_music).[5] Brian Wilson, “Good Vibrations: Lyrics,” Shmoop (http://www.shmoop.com/good-vibrations/lyrics.html).[6] According to the physical laws of thermodynamics, the Force or energy is dissipating anyway (See 2 Peter 3:11-13; Isaiah 51:6). When used, energy use results in friction loss. In other words, the sun will burn out eventually. So why would anyone want to tap into an energy that’s temporal?[7] René Pache, The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture, Translated by Helen Needham (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1969): 81-82.[8] Bill Hamon, “The Fulfillment of Your Personal Prophecy,” in Héctor Torres, The Restoration of the Apostles and Prophets: How It Will Revolutionize Ministry in the 21st Century, Foreward by C. Peter Wagner (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001): 82. See Sarah Leslie, “The Return of the Warrior-Prophets, Networking the Church: Part 4,” Herescope, March 8, 2007 (http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/03/return-of-warrior-prophets.html).[9] In physics, resonance refers to the, “Enhancement of the response of an electric or mechanical system to a periodic driving force when the driving frequency is equal to the natural undamped frequency of the system.” See Webster’s II: New College Dictionary (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995): 944.[10] Pastor Larry DeBruyn, “On Theosis, Or Divinization: What does it mean to be “partakers of the divine nature”? Guarding His Flock Ministries, January 11, 2012 (http://guardinghisflock.com/2012/01/11/on-theosis-or-divination/#more-1989).[11] Emphasis added, Richard Watson, Theological Institutes: A View of the Evidences, Doctrines, Morals and Institutions of Christianity, Volume I (New York, NY: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1836): 630.[12] Emphasis added, William G.T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology, Volume I (New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1888): 328.[13] “This is because it [natural theology] distracts from the comprehensiveness and exclusiveness of Christ as the revelation of God. For Barth (Karl Barth, 1886-1968) there is [was] no other source of the knowledge of God than Jesus Christ as he is witnessed to in the Scriptures.” See T.H.L. Parker, “Natural Theology,” Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, Everett F. Harrison, Editor-in-Chief (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1960): 372.[14] Larry DeBruyn, “The Supreme Supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ: Christ before Cosmos,” Guarding His Flock Ministries, August 13, 2013 (http://guardinghisflock.com/2013/08/13/the-supreme-supremacy-of-the-lord-jesus-christ/#more-2442).[15] “Tech sites lead on April Fools gags,” BBC News, April 1, 2015 (http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32145885). Those of us who are not “Trekkers” need to aware that Mos Eisley is a spaceport on the planet of Tatooine in the imaginary Star Wars universe. Obviously, there’s no CERN or university there. Obi-Wan Kenobi (The April Fools Day “Professor” Kenobi played by Alec Guinness) describes Mos Eisley as a “wretched hive of scum and villainy.” See “Mos Eisley,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mos_Eisley).

The graphic at the top of this post is a Herescope original, combined from an image of Darth Sidius from Star WarsHERE and Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam" HERE.

About Me

Check your daily "HERESCOPE." Herescope is an online journal revealing heresies and false teachings affecting the church today. Copyright 2005-2017 held by the author, IRG, Inc., or Discernment Ministries, Inc. unless otherwise noted. Herescope is a term coined by Lynn Leslie literally meaning "scoping out a heresy." Herescope began as a regular magazine column in The Christian Conscience magazine published during 1995-1998 by IRG, Inc. The Discernment Research Group is an ad hoc fellowship of Christian researchers with roots dating back to 1985. For more articles, books, and newsletters go to http://www.discernment-ministries.org.